Is direct notice required for FMLA leave?

Description

Abstract: Sometimes an employee’s behavior can be enough to trigger an employer’s obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This article discusses why the Seventh Circuit reached that conclusion. A sidebar discusses Congress’s first expansion of the FMLA since it was enacted in 1993. The National Defense Authorization Act amends the FMLA to require employers to provide 12 weeks of FMLA leave during a 12-month period to the spouses, children or parents of members of the armed forces called to active duty. The sidebar explains this and other mandates in the new law. Stevenson v. Hyre Electric Co., 505 F.3d 720 (7th Cir. 2007)